Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap: May 2

Mar 17, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Matt den Dekker (21) slides as Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) fields a ball in the ninth inning at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals won 9-7. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Matt den Dekker (21) slides as Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) fields a ball in the ninth inning at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals won 9-7. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
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Mar 17, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Matt den Dekker (21) slides as Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) fields a ball in the ninth inning at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals won 9-7. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2016; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Matt den Dekker (21) slides as Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson (80) fields a ball in the ninth inning at Space Coast Stadium. The Washington Nationals won 9-7. Mandatory Credit: Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports /

Atlanta Braves Minor League Weekend Wrap Up

Transactions

4/28 RHP Rob Wooten promoted from extended spring to Gwinnett
4/28 OF Sean Godfrey activated from DL to Mississippi
4/28 RHP Luis Gamez promoted from extended spring to Rome
4/28 RHP Caleb Beech placed on DL by Rome
4/29 C Braeden Schlehuber demoted from Gwinnett to extended spring
4/29 IF Levi Hyams promoted from extended spring to Gwinnett
4/30 RHP Kanekoa Texeira demoted from Gwinnett to extended spring
4/30 SS Ozzie Albies promoted from Mississippi to Gwinnett
4/30 SS Dansby Swanson promoted from Carolina to Mississippi
4/30 C Sal Giardina activated from DL to Carolina

Hitter of the week – Dansby Swanson certainly forced the Braves’ hand this week with his performance. He put up a .429/.550/.929 line on the week with 4 runs and 4 RBI. Until Sunday, he only had extra base hits on the week, with 4 doubles and a home run. He also had 5 walks on the week without striking out once! Honorable mention: Reid Brignac had a week that would have been the winner of the week award any other week – .462/.563/.654, 2 2B, HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 6/6 BB/K for Gwinnett. Unfortunately, he chose to do that the week that Dansby went off!

Pitcher of the week – Normally, a two-start pitcher would win the award, but none of the two-start guys had overwhelming weeks. In a week with tremendous starts, the best line would go to Rome starter Mike Soroka, who went 7 innings, allowing one unearned run on 4 hits, walking none and striking out 6 for the highest game score in the system on the week. Honorable mention: A 70 game score is an exceptional game pitched. The Braves system had 4 of them on the week, so rather than choose among the other 3 for my runner-up, I’ll let them share the mention – Brandon Barker with 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K; Casey Kelly with 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 6 BB, 5 K; and Lucas Sims with 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K.

Next: Gwinnett Braves

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AAA Gwinnett Braves (13-12)

Thursday

Gwinnett scored in the top of the 9th to tie the game and send it to extras, and after the teams exchanged 2-run 13th innings, Gwinnett finally won the game in the 15th 4-3. Lucas Sims was absolutely awesome on the mound, going 7 innings, allowing one run on 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 11. Emilio Bonifacio had three hits and stole his 10th base. Reid Brignac had three singles. Rio Ruiz walked three times. Blake Lalli had a single and two walks. Ryan Lavarnway had a double and a walk. Ronnier Mustelier had a double.

Friday

Ryan Weber had a rough relief outing, blowing Casey Kelly’s excellent start as Gwinnett lost 4-1. Kelly went 7 innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit, 6 walks, and striking out 5. Reid Brignac had a big night at the plate, hitting 2 doubles and a single. Matt Tuiasosopo had a double and a walk. Levi Hyams had a single and a walk.

Saturday

Saturday’s game against Columbus was completed early due to rain, with Gwinnett losing 6-2. Williams Perez went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 6 runs, 4 earned, on 9 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Ronnier Mustelier had a single and a walk. Chase d’Arnaud stole his seventh base.

Sunday

Tyrell Jenkins took to the hill on Sunday and gave the Braves a solid start, but the bullpen couldn’t hold things down after Jenkins left with a lead, and Columbus won the game 7-4. Jenkins went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4. Rio Ruiz slapped out three hits, including a double and a triple, and walked on the day. Reid Brignac had a home run and three walks. Chase d’Arnaud launched a home run and walked twice. Brandon Snyder had two singles.

Leaders

BA: Rio Ruiz .333
OBP: Reid Brignac .422
HR: Matt Tuiasosopo 4
SB: Emilio Bonifacio 10
W: Tyrell Jenkins and Brandon Cunniff 2
SV: David Peterson 3
SO: Tyrell Jenkins 20
ERA: Kanekoa Texeira 0.90

Video Highlights

Next: Mississippi Braves

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AA Mississippi Braves (9-15)

More from Tomahawk Take

Thursday

Jacksonville hit starter Andrew Thurman hard and the offense didn’t show up until late as Mississippi lost 9-4. Thurman went 3 innings, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and a walk, striking out 1. Ozzie Albies had two singles and a double with a walk. Sean Godfrey had a single and a double. Carlos Franco had two singles. Dustin Peterson had a double and a walk. Jake Schrader had a double.

Friday

Mississippi used a 4-run 3rd inning to defeat Jacksonville 5-4. Starter Chris Ellis went 6 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts. Sean Godfrey had two singles. Chris Ellis actually had two hits as well. Ozzie Albies walked twice. Willians Astudillo had a double and 3 RBI, but he did end one of the more remarkable streaks in all of baseball as he struck out for the first time since July of 2015, a streak of over 150 plate appearances.

Saturday

Mississippi defeated Jacksonville with a solid late-game comeback 3-2. Sean Newcomb got the start and went 5 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5. Dansby Swanson had a monster game in his first game in Mississippi, knocking out a double and a home run, driving in all 3 Mississippi runs. Matt Lipka had a single and double and walked. Sean Godfrey hit a double.

Sunday

Mississippi starter Rob Whalen got to the 6th inning scoreless, but he ran into trouble in the inning, allowing all the runs Jacksonville needed to defeat the M-Braves 3-1. Whalen totaled 5 1/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 3. Whalen didn’t allow a single extra base hit in the start. No M-Braves hitter reached base multiple times in the game. In fact, Whalen had the big hit of the day in his own backing, smacking a double and scoring the Braves’ only run. Emerson Landoni also doubled.

Leaders

BA: Dustin Peterson .270
OBP: Dustin Peterson .337
HR: Dustin Peterson 3
SB: Matt Lipka and Johan Camargo 1
W: Chris Ellis 3
SV: Mauricio Cabrera 3
SO: Sean Newcomb 24
ERA: Brandon Barker 0.78

Video Highlights

Next: Carolina Mudcats

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Carolina Mudcats (11-12)

Thursday

Thursday’s game with Wilmington was postponed due to rain.

Friday

Carolina used a 4-run 6th inning to defeat Lynchburg 4-3 on Friday night. Enderson Franco got the start, throwing 6 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits without a walk while striking out 5. Joey Meneses had two singles. Dansby Swanson had a double, a walk, and stole his seventh base. Braxton Davidson had a single and a walk.

Saturday

For the first time this season, a team was able to score on Chase Johnson-Mullins, and it cost Carolina the win Saturday as they lost 7-6. Michael O’Neal and CJM combined to allow 5 runs in the 8th inning. Ryan Lawlor started the game and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2. Joey Meneses, Reed Harper, and Joseph Odom each had a double, single, and a walk. Stephen Gaylor had a single and walked twice, stealing his 7th base of the season. Jordan Edgerton had a double.

Sunday

Carolina and Lynchburg went to the 7th inning in a low-scoring affair, but ended up with a 5-4 Carolina win after 6 combined runs in the final 2 1/2 innings. Matt Withrow went 6 innings, allowing one run on 4 hits and 2 walks, striking out 3. Joey Meneses had a single and a double. Keith Curcio had a double and a home run and walked. He also added his 5th stolen base of the season.

Leaders

BA: Joey Meneses .299
OBP: Ryan Gebhardt .413
HR: 5 with 1
SB: Stephen Gaylor 7
W: 3 with 2
SV: Chase Johnson-Mullins and Evan Phillips 4
SO: Max Povse 23
ERA: Evan Phillips and Sean McLaughlin 0.00

Video Highlights

None posted

Next: Rome Braves

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Rome Braves (8-15)

Thursday

Rome used a 4-run 3rd inning to win 4-2 on Thursday. Touki Toussaint had a solid start, throwing 5 innings, allowing one run on 2 hits and a walk, striking out 3. Ronald Acuna had a single and a home run, driving in 3 runs, though he was caught twice stealing. Austin Riley had a single and a double. Luke Dykstra had two singles and a stolen base. Lucas Herbert had a single and a walk. Ray-Patrick Didder stole his 5th base.

Friday

Mike Soroka had an amazing start for Rome, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead, as Hagerstown took the game 3-1. Soroka went 7 innings, allowing an unearned run on 4 hits, no walks, striking out 8. Luke Dykstra had two singles, but he was the only Rome hitter that reached base twice on the day.

Saturday

Hagerstown’s pitching had the Rome lineup’s number from the get-go on Saturday as Rome fell 5-1. Patrick Weigel got the start and pitched well in spite of struggling with his control at times. His final line was 5 innings, 2 runs allowed on 3 hits and 5 walks with 7 strikeouts. Notable was that Luis Gamez made his debut for Rome, throwing 2 scoreless relief innings and striking out 3. Gamez had been highly touted after the 2014 draft but had stalled last season. Ronald Acuna hit a double and a single with two walks. Erison Mendez had a double.

Sunday

Rome was rained out on Sunday.

Next: Braves Prospects Impress

Leaders

BA: Ray-Patrick Didder .316
OBP: Ray-Patrick Didder .422
HR: Four with 2
SB: Ronald Acuna 6
W: Three with 2
SV: Oriel Caicedo 2
SO: Patrick Weigel 31
ERA: Bladimir Matos 0.90

Highlight Videos

None posted

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